Florence weakens into depression, heads north

By

UPI Staff

Ignacio (L) and Sylvia Bautista hold hands after checking out their property following Hurricane Florence, now tropical depression on Wednesday in Beulaville, N.C. Florence, is continuing to dump rain on North and South Carolina and the Cape Fear River Valley and other rivers will rise breaking record flood levels. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

The Kennedy family look over photos saved after their home was flooded and damaged in Chinquapin, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Andrew Jackson walks through flooded waters in a trailer park following Hurricane Florence, now tropical depression on Tuesday in Wilmington, N.C. Florence, is continuing to dump rain on North and South Carolina and the Cape Fear River Valley and other rivers will rise breaking record flood levels. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Mona Houser, stands on the porch of her trailer following Hurricane Florence, now tropical depression on Tuesday in Wilmington, N.C. Florence, is continuing to dump rain on North and South Carolina and the Cape Fear River Valley and other rivers will rise breaking record flood levels. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Members of the Humane Society of Missouri rescue chickens in Currie, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Cynthia Sweet, with the Humane Society of Missouri, rescue carries two rooster. HSM rescued three roosters and two hens. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Shaqudnda Johnson 20 and Jamal Whitmore 20, cool off in the flooded waters off HWY 210 where a section was washed out in Currie, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

PAR Electrical Contractors work at repairing electricity to the city following Hurricane Florence, now tropical depression on Monday in Carolina Beach, N.C. Florence, is continuing to dump rain on North and South Carolina and the Cape Fear River Valley and other rivers will rise breaking record flood levels. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Mural of the American flag painted on garage doors of an auto repair place following Hurricane Florence in Myrtle Grove, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Local residents wait for hours in a long line for ice at Rose Ice & Coal Co. in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

The Coast Guard has been conducting search and rescue operations in support of state and local emergency operation centers. Photo by PO2 Loumania Stewart/U.S. Coast Guard/UPI | License Photo

Members of Task Force 75, John Peters (L) and Eric Carlson work at entering a house where three dogs were left abandoned following Hurricane Florence, now tropical depression on Sunday in Wilmington, N.C. Florence is continuing to dump rain on North and South Carolina where some rivers are expected to crest early Monday afternoon. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Sheriff Deputy T.C. Smith, New Hanover Co. along with Members of Task Force 75, work placing an abandoned dog in a cage for transportation to a shelter. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A flooded neighborhood after Hurricane Florence, now a tropical depression on Sunday in Castle Hayne, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Blue Cay road is flooded as parts of a nearby lake over flowed into the neighborhood in Castle Hayne, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A house sits in a flooded area in Castle Hayne, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Winston Garrett, who waited in line for three hours, pumps gas at a Costco gas station in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A car sits abandoned on a street during Hurricane, now tropical storm Florence on Saturday in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

An Emergency Response Team utility vehicle drives through water over a foot deep on route 17 in Hampstead just outside of Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

INTF-1, (Indiana Task Force), Indiana Urban Search and Rescue team and their rescue dog, pause at a local gas station to fill up in preparation on Saturday in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Tree limbs extend from the corner of the house where a tree fell and trapped a family killing the mother and 8 month old baby during Hurricane Florence, now tropical storm Florence, on Saturday in Wilmington, N.C. The man was in critical condition and taken to a hospital. They were the first known deaths attributed to Tropical Storm Florence, which was a Category 1 hurricane when it struck the city. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Rescue personnel take a moment to pray after a large tree fell on a home killing a mother and her infant following Hurricane Florence coming ashore on Friday in Wilmington, N.C. A man was rescued. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Rescue personnel rest outside a home where a mother and her infant were killed after Hurricane Florence landed on shore Friday in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Rescue personnel rest outside a home where a mother and her infant were killed after Hurricane Florence landed on shore Friday in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Rescue personnel remove gear from a home where a mother and her infant were killed after Hurricane Florence landed on shore Friday in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A local resident holds onto her hat against gusty winds as she walks down the beach as downgraded Tropical Storm Florence reaches the Charleston area Friday in Isle of Palms, S.C. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

Local residents in costume run down the beach as they take part in a hurricane party pub crawl as downgraded Tropical Storm Florence reaches the Charleston area Friday. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

Local residents check the wind on the beach as downgraded Tropical Storm Florence reaches the Charleston area Friday. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

A local resident walks backwards as she fights blowing sand on the beach as downgraded Tropical Storm Florence reaches the Charleston area Friday. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

Local residents run off the beach in gusty winds and light rain as downgraded Tropical Storm Florence reaches the Charleston area Friday. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

Zach Boucher and Chris Craig sit on a bench in the flooded waters following Hurricane Florence on Friday in downtown Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

The hood of a car sits barely connected to the car following Hurricane Florence on Friday in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Mark Anthony Mueller (L) and Ray Baca, both from Wilmington, sit on a bench, as the Cape Fear River flows onto South Water Street on Friday. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

A bridge at Wallace Park is partially submerged as water levels rise after Hurricane Florence made landfall Friday in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

A sign on a local shop lists three recent hurricanes that have hit the region as Hurricane Florence weakened and slowed after hitting land in North Carolina on Friday. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

A road is washed over in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

Lines are down at an intersection prior to approaching Hurricane Florence on Thursday in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A sign shows that a Hurricane warning is in effect, as Hurricane Florence begins to touch down, September 13, 2018 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Florence, a category 2 storm, is expected to hit the coast between South and North Carolina and could be the strongest storm on record for the East Coast of the United States. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

A man walks his dog by a bar/restaurant prior to the approaching Hurricane Florence in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

People wait in line to get ice at an outdoor dispenser in preparation for approaching Hurricane Florence in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Waves get bigger as boats are docked at Port City Marina in preparation for approaching Hurricane Florence in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A man brings a case of beer under cover as he watches from Dockside Restaurant before Hurricane Florence in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

A local resident rides his bicycle past a boarded up shop as Hurricane Florence approaches the Carolina coast on Thursday in Charleston, S.C. A mandatory evacuation order remains in effect for the coast but at least half of the residents in Charleston are believed to have stayed as the storm loses intensity. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

A "Gone Surfing" message is left on the plywood boards protecting the doors of McKevlins Surf Shop in Folly Beach, S.C. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

A local resident walks past a shuttered historic home along the historic Battery on Charleston Harbor in Charleston, S.C. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

A local residents talk a walk along the historic Battery on Charleston Harbor in Charleston, S.C. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

People fill up the last of available gas in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Al Drago/UPI. | License Photo

A man walks on the docks to view Wrightsville Beach, approaching Hurricane Florence on Thursday in Wilmington, N.C. Florence, downgraded to a category 2 storm, is expected to hit the coast between South and North Carolina. Photo by Al Drago/UPI. | License Photo

People sit on the beach prior to the approaching hurricane in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

The Jordan family walks along the beach near Sky Wheel Amusement Park before approaching Hurricane Florence in Wilmington, N.C., on Wednesday. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Pieces of wood cover the windows of a home in Wilmington, N.C. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

Pieces of wood cover the windows of a business in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

A gas station in Wilmington, N.C., had run out of gas on Wednesday. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

Greg Wong, a Long Island, N.Y., native, has lived in Wilmington for 11 years. He's boarding up windows on his home in advance of Florence's arrival. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

Jeremie Plyer pumps gas into reserve tanks and a bucket for his generator at home in preparation for approaching Hurricane Florence on Wednesday in Little River, S.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Pallets of mulch are stacked in front of the doors of an Ace Hardware in preparation in Calabash, N.C. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

A man loads belongings into his car before evacuating in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

A surfer heads into the water before the approaching hurricane in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

Workers attach hurricane shutters to windows along the beach on Tuesday in Isle of Palms, S.C. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

Shops were closed on the historic King Street shopping district in Charleston, S.C. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

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Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Florence early Sunday weakened into a depression but was forecast to still cause flash flooding and major river flooding over much of the Carolinas.

At 5 am., the National Hurricane Center in a report said Florence had dissipated into a depression and announced it would be the last advisory. The National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center is issuing future advisories.

The center of the storm made landfall around 7:15 a.m. Friday near Wrightsville Beach, N.C., close to the South Carolina border. Forecasters said Florence hit land with winds of 90 mph -- a Category 1 hurricane -- and slowed a bit in its movement as its outward winds lashed North and South Carolina.

For more than a day Florence was moving about 3 mph per hour. But as winds diminished, it moved quicker across the Carolinas.

The Prediction Center said Sunday that Florence was moving at 10 mph with sustained winds of 35 mph and was 40 miles west of Columbia, S.C., and 215 miles southwest of Raleigh N.C.

A turn toward the northwest with an increase in forward speed is expected Sunday, followed by a turn toward the north and northeast with an additional increase in forward speed Monday. On the forecast track, Florence's center Sunday will move across the western Carolinas and then recurve over the Ohio Valley and Northeast United States on Monday and Tuesday.

All watches and warnings have been discontinued. But the Prediction Center said "interests in the southeastern and mid-Atlantic states should monitor the progress of Florence due to the heavy rainfall threat."

An additional 5 to 10 inches, with storm total accumulations of 15 to 20 inches in western North Carolina, are forecast.

"These rainfall amounts will produce catastrophic flash flooding, prolonged significant river
flooding, and an elevated risk for landslides in western North Carolina and far southwest Virginia," the Prediction Center.

In southern North Carolina and northern South Carolina an additional 4 to 6 inches, and isolated 8 inches, is forecast. This rainfall will result in additional flash flooding and also exacerbate the
river flooding, the Prediction Center said.

Storm total accumulations of 30 to 40 inches in southeast North Carolina are forecast.

An observer near Swansboro, N.C., told the NHC more than 30 inches of rain had fallen so far, a record-breaking total surpassing the tropical cyclone record of 24.06 inches for North Carolina set during Hurricane Floyd in 1999.